Women's Basketball

Wellesley Rallies Past MIT, 60-51

Feb 06, 2010

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A 20-5 run that
spanned 10 minutes in the second half helped propel Wellesley
College to a 60-51 win over MIT in a New England Women’s and
Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women’s basketball
game on Saturday. Aparna Sud paced the Engineers (4-16, 2-12
NEWMAC) with 16 points, including a 4-of-9 performance from behind
the arc. Ashleigh Sargent recorded an efficient outing for the Blue
(8-11, 6-8 NEWMAC) as she shot 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4
from the charity stripe for a team-high 15 points.

MIT jumped out to a 9-2 edge, but Wellesley battled back and evened
the contest at 16 courtesy of a pair of free throws by Malia Maier
with 8:21 on the clock. A put-back and a three-pointer by Sud gave
the Engineers some breathing room. The Blue countered with a 7-2
spurt, as back-to-back layups from Becca Kimball gave her squad its
first lead of the game (24-23) with 3:48 left in the frame. Maier
chipped in a layup two minutes later, however Sud’s
three-pointer tied the game at 26. Wellesley’s Robyn Burleson
responded with a trey of her own before a layup by Kristen Whaley
brought MIT within one (29-28) at the intermission.

The Engineers opened the second stanza by outscoring the visitors,
11-5, for a 39-34 advantage at the 12:23 mark. Following two
minutes of scoreless play, the Blue mounted its pivotal run that
was ignited by six consecutive points from KD Stearns. She recorded
the last three points of the rally to give Wellesley a 54-44
advantage with 2:59 remaining in regulation. MIT narrowed the gap
to six (55-49) courtesy of a three-pointer by Lauren Sascha Burton
and a coast-to-coast layup from Lauren Simmons with 36 seconds on
the clock. This was as close as it would get as the Blue converted
three out of their next four shots at the free-throw line. Each
side traded layups during the final 24 seconds to cap the
scoring.

Burton finished with 10 points and two steals as Sally Simpson
tallied eight points, five rebounds, and three steals. Stephanie
Cooke hauled in a game-high 10 boards to go along with two steals.
Simmons dished out a career-high four assists while Whaley
contributed eight points.

Maier compiled 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals,
and two blocks for the Blue. Stearns notched 14 points and two
steals as Kimball posted nine points and a team-high seven boards.
Katie Martore bolstered Wellesley’s defense with six
caroms.

The Blue held a commanding advantage in points in the paint (34-12)
and also at the free-throw line, where it was 20-of-29 while the
Engineers went 4-of-8. MIT hit nine shots from three-point range,
compared to two by Wellesley. The Cardinal and Gray also had a
slight edge in points off turnovers (15-13), second-chance points
(11-9), and bench scoring (24-19).

Both squads will continue conference play on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
MIT will host Wheaton College while Wellesley will travel to Babson
College.